I have seen some pretty amazing things accomplished with acupuncture. I use it regularly on my personal show horses as a way to address any potential issues before they become problems.

I use acupuncture on the rescue horses for a couple of reasons. The first big reason is muscular stiffness. When these horses come off the track, their muscles are incredibly tight. They have a tendency to track better one way than the other because of under/over developed muscles when they are exercised on the track. I have seen Thoroughbreds canter perfectly with their head completely bent to the side since that is how they were exercised. To get a horse to move slower at the track, exercise riders bend their head's to the side. Could you imagine running that way? Their has to be pain and stiffness associated with such an unnatural movement. Acupuncture allows those muscles to relax. It also allows the energy to flow properly throughout the body. When the horse feels more relaxed, they are more open to learning and are able to move more freely when asked.

The second reason I use acupuncture is behavior. A lot of times, if a horse has a sour attitude, it is because their energy is not flowing properly. In the case of Louisa, she was incredibly grumpy when she first came to us. Her first acupuncture session resulted in her bulldozing us down and a twitch on her nose to quickly finish up her session. After her energy pathways opened up and we put her on a Liver Happy Chinese supplement, her attitude completely changed. During her second acupuncture session, she was like a different horse. She stood relaxed, chewing, and a hind hoof cocked. The acupuncturist thought it was a different horse. I'm just happy she came back to work on her!

A lot of people think acupuncture is used when there is a problem. I don't view it that way... I view it as a way to prevent problems and to make the horse even better. I highly recommend it to anyone who owns and actively rides/competes a horse.